University of Cebu - Banilad Campus

College of Nursing
Gov. M. Cuenco Ave, Cebu City, 6000

NCM 110:
NURSING INFORMATICS

Topic 32: The Nursing Curriculum in the

Information Age

By
Tolingin, Honey May T.
BSN 2K

Maria Cleofe D. Claridad, RN

Clinical Instructor
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the report, the BSN 2-K students will be able to:
 Discuss the Nursing Education within the context of rapidly evolving
and deploying information technology within education
 Know the different Curriculum implications including faculty
development, Web-enhanced and interactive learning, cognition,
electronic communications, and informatics.
 Identify models and strategies suggested for meeting the educational
challenges of the information age.

INTRODUCTION:
The nursing curriculum in the information age is designed to prepare
students for the rapidly changing healthcare environment. By integrating technology,
critical thinking, evidence-based practice, and inter-professional collaboration into the
curriculum, nursing students are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to
succeed as healthcare professionals.

Informatics has become intricately related with the delivery of information in

education and practice. Research indicates that the concept of informatics needs to be
articulated in curricula in the context of cognition and information processing, including
information science as well as the technology that supports these functions.

Nursing is an information-intensive profession, and nursing education relies

heavily on the acquisition of information to educate students in their professional
programs. Thus, the acceleration of technological development and availability of
information will have profound threats on how students learn, how nursing is taught,
and how care is delivered.

Education will be discussed within the context of information technology and

information science and specifically relate to:

1. Information Management and the educational environment

2. Faculty development
3. Cognition and interactive learning
4. Nursing informatics and the curriculum

1. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
 One of the most daunting challenges for faculty, students, and nurses.
1. Maintaining currency with the technology as well as with the dramatic
changes within the education system as a result of digital technology.
2. Initiatives such as Internet.
 3. The creation of collaborative information technology intensive ventures
among publishing, business, and education.

EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
 A discussion of the process of education in the context of information technology
and information management necessitates inclusion of the educational
environment to promote the delivery of curriculum content.
A successful plan for the integration of information technology into the education
process requires the presence of an environment that engenders and sustains:

1. Supportive infrastructure
2. The availability of centralized technology resources
3. Collaborative, interdisciplinary courses,
4. Alliances among education, business, and government

2. FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
 Refers to the on-going process of enhancing the knowledge, skills, and
abilities of nursing faculty to effectively teach and integrate new technologies
and information management practices into the nursing curriculum.
Barriers to faculty development:
o Affective Responses
o Competing Demands

3. COGNITION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

 It is essential to emphasize both the content taught and the delivery method. To
prepare practitioners who have not only appropriate computer literacy skills but
also cognitive skills for the effective use of information technologies

Nelson (2000) describes the need for both computer and information literacy in nursing
curricula:
o Computer Literacy- is the ability to perform computer operations at a skill level
high enough to meet the demands of society.
o Information Literacy Skills- is the ability to use the tools of automation in the
process of accessing, evaluating, and using information.

 NURSING EDUCATION AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)

Nursing Education- Refers to the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, and

competencies necessary to practice as a nurse.

World Wide Web (WWW) - Provides a wide range of resources for nursing education,
including online courses, virtual simulations, educational videos, and interactive learning
modules.
Thurmond (2003) defines four types of interactions in relation to Web-enhanced
course:
o learner-content = the student studies the course content and
participates in course activities.
o learner-learner = students interact with each other.
o learner-instructor = used by students to reinforce understanding of
course content and clarify nebulous points.
o learner-interface = how students interact with technology medium used
in the course.

Multimedia- Ability to deliver text, full color graphics, sound, video, and animation,
provides an excellent example of how learning can be enhanced by computer-based
systems.
CD-ROM/DVD- As teaching learning tools for clinical nursing education.
o Allows for an interactive on-screen situation that mimics reality with
graphics, sound, and movement.

Interactive CD-ROM Programs/ Simulation Software- computer-assisted learning

programs designed to achieve greater mastery of content and learning than is possible
with didactic instruction.

 TESTING SYSTEM
o Since April 1994, the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered
Nurses (NCLEX-RN) has been an online, computer-based test administered
in selected locations in every state and United States territory.
o It is designed to promote computer-based testing (CBT) in schools.

Concerns regarding CBT include:

o Test security
o Use of honor codes
o Positive student reactions to the choices accompanying computer testing

Reported benefits include:

o A reduced amount of time invested in the development, administration,
and scoring of tests
o the ability to generate a variety of question types
o The establishment of test banks with varying degrees of psychometric
properties
o The ability to import questions from textbook computerized test banks
o Prompt processing of grades and analysis of questions through access to
students' answer files.

 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
o E-mail
o Blogs/Listservs/Forums/Newsgroups
 o Synchronous Technologies

4. NURSING INFORMATICS AND CURRICULUM

o In 2000, the American Nurses Association (ANA) revised the definition of
nursing informatics proposing, "Nursing Informatics is a specialty that
integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to
manage and communicate data, information, and knowledge in nursing
practice.

NURSING EDUCATION INFORMATICS MODELS

1. Travis and Brennan model

 Emphasizes the inclusion of information science as essential in the
undergraduate curriculum.
 Provides for both the theoretical and practical components of informatics and
emphasizes the smooth integration into course sequencing.
3 concepts
- Information
- Technology
- Clinical Care Processes

2. Nursing Informatics Education Model (NIEM)

 In this model, undergraduate students master computer literacy and progress
to information management and its application to the clinical setting.

Integrating the domains of:

- Computer Science
- Information Science
- Nursing Science

3. Nursing Informatics Graduate Education Model- The model proposes an

interpretation of data, information, and knowledge that is complex and nonlinear.
This model expands on the Grave and Corcoran-Perry model of:
- Model of data,
- Information
- Knowledge.

 The model reflects three important developments in informatics:

1. The ability to transform and model knowledge in complex, interactive
systems.
2. The advances that have been made in researching and developing
standardized nursing terminology taxonomies; and
3. The availability of large clinical data sets and data repositories.
 4. Turley Model

 Turley (1996) gives credence to the importance of cognition in the application of

information technology and management in nursing education.
This model supports a multidisciplinary approach within the domain of nursing
science and encompasses:
- Computer science
- Information science
- Cognitive science

References:
AACN. (Rev. 1999). American Association of Colleges of Nursing Agenda for the 21st
Century. Available at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications/positions/ nrsgedag.htm
AACN. (2003). American Association of Colleges of Nursing: Faculty Shortages in
Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs: Scope of the Problem and Strategies for
Expanding the Supply. Available at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications.htm
American Nurses Association. (2001). The Scope of Practice of Nursing Informatics and
the Standards of Practice and Professional Performance for the Informatics Nurse
Specialist. Washington, DC: ANA Publishing.
Ayoub, J., Vanderboom, C., Knight, M., et al. (1998). A study of the effectiveness of an
interactive computer classroom. Computers in Nursing 16:333-338.